


Getting Out the Vote

by aspenlift



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Cuties, Elections, F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Politics, judy is the best girlfriend ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:09:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8459587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspenlift/pseuds/aspenlift
Summary: With her girlfriend Dawn down in the Zootopia mayoral race against Lionheart, Judy hatches a plan to help her win with Nick's help.





	

Judy slipped into her house a little past 2 a.m., creeping quietly against the wooden floors so not to wake her girlfriend Dawn, who was surely fast asleep given the hour. She had had a long shift at the ZPD with paperwork causing her to stay two hours longer than she was scheduled for. But that was the norm when you work in the downtown district of Zootopia, an area that’s always been a hotspot for criminal activity and petty crime. Despite the long hours, Judy always left work feeling extremely fulfilled, even if she was still desperately tired. Yet after two years on the force, she was still excited to go to work each day and make Zootopia a safer place for everyone.

She stopped her slow creep of a walk when she saw the living room light was on and heard the soft pitter-patter of keys being stroked against a computer keyboard.

“You’re still up?” Judy asked, walking into the living room and seeing Dawn sitting at her desk, her laptop and dozens of papers scattered around her.

“Judy! Honey! Hey!” Dawn said looking up, her eyes a little puffy from staring at the screen for so long. “Did you get off early?”

“Babe, it’s 2 a.m.,” Judy said walking over to Dawn and rubbing her shoulders gently.

Dawn looked over at the clock on the wall and squinted. “Oh, wow. I had no idea. Where did the time go? It felt like it was 6 p.m.”

“When you didn’t answer my texts I thought you were asleep.”

“You texted me?” Dawn said, beginning to rummage through the papers for her phone. She soon found it under some graphs.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Judy,” she said, as she looked at the messages on her phone.

“What are you working on that’s keeping you up until 2?”

Dawn let out a sigh and leaned into the soft shoulder massage Judy was giving her. “I’m just running through the latest polling numbers and comparing the demographic info to Zootopia districts. I guess the time got away from me.”

“Can’t a staff member run the numbers?”

“They have,” Dawn said meekly. “But you know I like to double-check.”

Judy chuckled, “You’ve been known to be a stickler for details. How are the numbers looking?”

“Not good,” Dawn said, looking miserably at the documents in front of her. “We’re still losing so much of the predator vote. That’s to be expected, but our numbers haven’t been improving in that demo despite our outreach initiatives. I’m going to need a majority of the predator vote because it’s almost certain Lionheart will win nearly half of the prey vote. There has to be something to swing the momentum.”

“I see,” Judy said letting out a yawn and giving Dawn’s shoulder one last rub. “Well, we always have tomorrow. Let’s go to bed.” She started walking towards their bedroom.

“I will be there in a second. Let me send one last update email to my campaign manager, Kathryn.”

Judy turned and looked at her disapprovingly.

“Okay, okay,” Dawn said closing the laptop screen and getting up from her chair with a smile. “I know that look.”

Dawn watched as Judy changed out of her uniform and into her pajamas and then crawled into bed. This was one perk of her accidently staying up late: finally being able to catch her girlfriend when she came home from working a night shift. They were currently working opposite schedules and being able to go to bed at the same time together was a luxury they hadn’t been afforded in weeks.

“How was your day?” Dawn asked, snuggling against Judy and wrapping her arm around her waist.

“You mean yesterday?” Judy said with a soft laugh. “It wasn’t too bad. We’re still working on the Lemming Brothers Bank robbery case.” She let out another yawn. She really was tired. “I think we’re going to crack it really soon.”

“That’s good,” Dawn said stroking the fur of her lovers side softly. Judy leaned her body into Dawns and closed her eyes, the feel of Dawn’s warm wool against her the perfect end to a long day.

They laid there in silence for a few minutes appreciating the quiet of the night and just being with each other. They both knew these moments were few and far between.

“I’m so happy to have some days off soon,” Judy said quietly. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too,” Dawn said. “We’ve both been working so much lately. Too much.” There was a hint of somber in her voice.

“It’ll change soon enough,” Judy said, her trademark optimism filling the air. “ZPD will crack this case and you’re going to win election for Mayor.”

“Thank you,” Dawn said quietly. She stopped stroking Judy’s fur. “I’m so nervous. We’re only a few weeks out...”

“Hey,” Judy whispered turning her body around to face Dawn. “Don’t worry about it, babe. We got this.” She gave her forehead a soft kiss.

Dawn smiled after hearing Judy use the plural _we_. Judy was too busy with her role on the force to play an active role in her campaign, but the way she spoke about it always assured Dawn that she was as dedicated as her highest ranking staff members. With all the good faith Judy placed in her, Dawn couldn’t help but think there was a possibility she could pull a win off.

“I love you,” Dawn whispered.

“I love you more,” Judy mumbled, her last words before falling asleep for good.

  
***

Dawn was up and out the door early the next day. She was planning to go into her campaign headquarters and prep for a live interview she was doing later that evening. She already had her talking points down, but the perfectionist in her thought it would be a good idea to practice again. One could never be too prepared.

She was almost to her campaign headquarters when a call from Judy came in.

“Hey, babe, where are you?”

“I’m walking into the campaign headquarters. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is great. The only thing that could make it better is if you came to where I am.”

Dawn smiled. “Judy, I wish I could, but I need to prep for my interview on ZNN later.”

“For some reason, I think you’re already prepped for that interview,” Judy said. “Please, just come to where I’m at. I promise it will be worth it.”

“Okay, okay,” Dawn said, giving in. She hadn't seen Judy before leaving this morning. She hated not being able to eat breakfast with Judy this morning and falling asleep together last night was still seared in her mind. It made her realize how much she missed her and she wanted to use this pocket of time to be with her.

“I’m on my way,” Dawn said turning around and walking towards the parking lot. “Where are you?”

“Sahara Square,” Judy replied eagerly.

Dawn pulled up to the crowded block and saw Judy waiting on the sidewalk. Her left foot tapping quickly against the pavement like it always did when she was excited.

“I thought you were at work?” Dawn said walking up to her and giving Judy a small kiss on the lips.

“I decided to take the day off,” Judy said with a smile.

“But the case—”

“Will be fine with me gone for one day,” Judy said, simultaneously interrupting and finishing Dawn’s sentence. “It’s all good.”

“Okay,” Dawn admitted. “So what are we doing in The Square?”

“Follow me and you’ll see,” Judy said with a beaming smile.

They walked down the block and turned and instantly heard Gazelle’s latest song blaring through loud speakers, saw tables set up, inflatable play pens, balloons, a giant tv screen with a game system connecting it where participants could play and flyers everywhere with Dawn's face on them.

Nick Wilde stood in the center of it all, both greeting passersby’s who decided to check out the scene and directing movers to arrange certain items.

“Judy… what is this?” Dawn asked with amazement and disbelief in her voice.

Judy beamed and turned to face her. “We’re getting the predator vote!”

“I don’t understand… How?” Dawn to take in the scene, her mouth slightly agape.

“Listen,” Judy said staring Dawn in the eye. “You’re analytical, serious, all about policy—which is great, and you know I love that about you, but Lionheart is in the lead because people think he’s fun and they’re excited. We need to bring that excitement to your campaign. And we’re starting today. What better way make mammals think you’re fun than throwing a rocking block party?

“Sahara Square has one of the biggest predator populations, so we’re going to get your name out here. Your staff has already been filled in. Half of them are here and the other half is on their way.”

Nick strolled up to them where a "Bellwether 2016" pin on his collared shirt. “Why hello there—It’s the woman of the hour. Welcome to your block party, Dawn!”

“Nick. Judy. How did you two organize this and so quickly?” Dawn was shocked, amazed and almost moved to tears.

“Nick knows every predator in town,” Judy said giving him a playful shove.

“I called in a few favors and pulled a few strings, but this was all Judy’s idea. I was just the middleman.”

“Middleman or not, every predator in the Square is going to show up to this. And we’re going to keep the party going to each district all the way up until election day,” Judy said.

Dawn looked around at the growing attendance at the block party, most of them indeed predators. She would have never thought to put on an event like this, she would have thought she could _pull off_ something like this off. Judy saves the day once again.

The party went better than anyone could’ve imagined. Dawn made some key connections with leaders in the community and was able to tell voters how her being mayor would benefit them the most. She also let her wool down and did three karaoke songs back-to-back, which the crowd loved.

Near the end of the day when the party was dying down, Dawn pulled Judy aside.

“You’re incredible,” she said, giving Judy a deep kiss. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you for all of this.”

“You can thank me after this election is over,” Judy said with a suggestive wink.

Dawn smiled suggestively back at her. “Now that I think about, I can think of a few ways to thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this short little one-shot. I love Judy and Dawn together as a loving and supporting pair. Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
